Posts by Per

There you go, you said it in the second sentence. Don't do that. Perform at the level you are at now. Music is about making a sound you like with what you have and that includes your current capabilities. No-one listening to your stuff has to know what went into it. You don't get brownie points.

A "good musician" is simply someone who uses what they've got to make something other people enjoy. People put the wrong kind of pressure on themselves the pressure of fear, perfectionism, that actively stops you from progressing or learning, it's the voice that says "I'm not good enough to join a band yet" yet a band is the single best way to rapidly learn. This is why artists keep sketchbooks, not to get good at sketching, but to keep their feet on the ground and stop them getting precious. That's why I'm doing noodles, not to get good at noodling, but to stave off perfectionism.

The journey you take will happen regardless. May as well let go and enjoy the ride.

One thing I’d like to add BayouTexan thinking about your words some more.

If I have any skills at this at all which I really don’t think I do, it’s only because I don’t take it or myself too seriously from the start. I would recommend it as a general approach.

Every evening I go through the same process. I sit down and have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do. I start out with a few lazy riffs, I get frustrated, then I remember the three most important words… it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter what I start with, it doesn’t matter where it ends up. It only matters that I make some effort, record something. There are no rules beyond that. That’s the point of liberation, and where creativity can be allowed to flow. I don’t have to not record the same thing I did last night. I don’t have to record guitar. “I don’t have to” is a general mantra. It could lead to why don’t I just record pencil sounds and try to turn that into a tune? It also throws out the internal competition thing that says it’s somehow about integrity. The only thing that matters is recording something and putting it online. So why not loop stuff? Why not record faster or slower for a difficult bit? Or if I want why not spend all evening practicing a piece to record it in a single take, suffering the whole way? Because again there’s no rules.

Having to upload and post it is also important because it’s ego stripping. You make something you think sucks, but still you gotta put it out there. It’s a little like gigging. You put your face to it.

The more you do, the less you say “it has to be a long piece” or “I need it to have this structure” or “it needs a solo” and realize those are arbitrary rules you’re placing on yourself mostly in an attempt to avoid doing more, and the less attached you are - then the faster you will progress and learn because you’ll make the mistakes and rather than spending time trying to rectify them you’ll just learn and next time get it a little more right.

So start by not taking it seriously. Don’t work your way towards that point. Don’t be serious right now. Don’t worry about things not working out. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that does is the journey. The results are a byproduct.

Thanks hafi19 !

Thanks for checking it out BayouTexan  hafi19 and Monkey_Man !

Haha yeah I guess so Monkey_Man now you put it like that and in light of what you were saying BayouTexan listening back even though it’s completely different I’m somehow reminded hobo humpin slobo babe

Mashing up the worst possible of all worlds, because why not?

Thanks V8guitar and BayouTexan !

The bass was the challenge on this track, the chord changes go all over the shop and break mid pattern to go off in new directions.

There’s a vocoder but the rest of the synths are left as is.

Thanks whippinpost91850 !

Thanks deadman42 !

Thanks Monkey_Man its an interesting experiment to try. Honestly it took me about half an hour to figure out how to get the vocoder to work, then another half hour just to find a good carrier sound. I’m sure there’s easier ways but I always wanted to do something vocoder ish.

Started out more as an exploration of strange progressions and slow bass playing against a tough chord sequence, which is much harder because timing issues really stand out. Ended up here somehow.

Thanks deangersmith that would be unintentional, maybe I should have put a limited on the master just to lock it down.

Thanks deangersmith I do have some grindcore in there a ways back, I should give it another go at some point, though I don’t feel I can do the required Cookie Monster vocals.

Good job. Drums could be way further up.

Just a little sketch, feeling a little listless recently. Gotta do more of the whole writers thing of just expunging crud till the decent stuff comes out.

Thanks deadman42 ! IMO a real band doesn’t have to be lose or sound bad, it’s just that it has to sound like a real band. Production can take away the human element and then all the risk is gone, it becomes boring.

Well I don't know how well I did copying Geddy, but it was certainly interesting and eye-opening to try.

Hey BayouTexan , depends on the section. In some parts it's two, three during "chorus" elements and up to four in verse - two hard panned and very low in the mix and two up front because I liked the chorus like sound for this style.

So this is the combination of two things, firstly I found an awesomely 90's profile and just went with it for everything, ok not drums, but apart from that. The other thing was a prescient thread over on GS asking why did punk records sound so awesome despite being technically lacking? And the answer of course is that they're raw and just sound like a band in a room, so I decided I really wanted to get to that sound here even though I am of course just one person in a bedroom, not least because it's been something that's been on my mind for a while that things are just too polished, too little just "here's a tune".

Oh also you can listen in peace, no vocals this time

Thanks deadman42 ! That’s true, but also moar is more

Quote from V8guitar

I do really like Steve Vai and I think he is brilliant....but this seems a bit...Spinal Tap-ish ?

I know its not live but it also bothers me that some of the fretted notes ring out after he switches neck...

Am I being too picky? I'm perhaps just a bit jealous that I still struggle with pentatonics and he does this stuff

I think this is all part of his Paganini stage gimmick and my head says it’s crazy impressive but my heart agrees. I wish we had more raw Vai, minus the gimmicks. Stuff that will outlast.

He’s a phenomenal player but I guess he feels this is the way to keep relevant while doing instrumental music in a world where it’s been many years since an instrumental track charted. Thing is he could easily hook up with Billie Eilish or the likes if he wanted a quick boost in the public consciousness. So maybe this is just his personal joy.